‘I thought I might have to go on without you’: a love story told in 12 D-day letters

What was life like for those sent to the home front – and those left behind? The correspondence of the Guardian journalist Gerard Fay and his wife Alice reveal the strain, fear and huge longing

The horrors endured by the armed forces during the second world war are well documented. But less is known about the suffering of the women and children they left behind. As the 80th anniversary of D-day approaches, a recently discovered box of letters gives fresh insight into what it was like for those at home, waiting for news.

The Manchester Guardian journalist Gerard Fay was called up to fight in the summer of 1940. He joined the army as an ordinary soldier and trained all over the UK while his wife, a former teacher called Alice or “Loll” (short for Lollipop), remained in the north of England. There began a fascinating correspondence between the couple, recording Gerard’s commission in the South Wales Borderers (SWB), which led to his service on D-day on 6 June 1944, and Alice’s life on the home front raising two children. Stephen (the five-year-old in the letters) grew up to become a journalist and author – and father of Matthew, my husband.

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